Refuse Thy Name
by Light1172
Summary: Keith was eight years old when his parents died. He was nine when Emily Hall adopted him. On his tenth birthday he was given the code-name Briar and his training started. (Full description inside!)
1. Prologue

Summary: Keith was eight years old when his parents died. He was nine when Emily Hall adopted him. On his tenth birthday he was given the code-name Briar and his training started. By his fourteenth year he aspired to be a true Team Dim Sun member. At fifteen he met Jay, code-named Ice, and they were immediately rivals. Two months before Keith's nineteenth birthday he met her, a beautiful blue-eyed ranger, and his world was turned around.

* * *

It wasn't like anything out of a fairytale that his mother used to read to him. There wasn't any poisoned apple, there wasn't any magical sorcerer casting spells, and there wasn't a hero to swoop in and save anyone. No, it was tuberculosis. His mother was diagnosed with the sickness and four weeks later she died. Barely five months after that his father had a heart attack. The always smiling man hadn't recovered from his wife's death and at eight years old Keith was an orphan. He was found shaking on his bed by neighbors and before a week had passed they took him to Sky Orphanage.

"His name is Keith Daze." Mrs. Jenne told the woman at the front desk. She pushed Keith up in front to get a better look at the woman. He frowned. This woman was tall, even while sitting down, and her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Her face was narrow and she had high cheekbones. Her lipstick was red and her nails were as well and Keith didn't like her. The woman didn't have a welcoming attitude. Keith tried to pull away. He wanted to leave but Mrs. Jenne's hand was on his shoulder.

"Yes, yes," The blonde woman said. She didn't look at Keith. "How old is he? What happened to his parents? Fire? Flash flooding? Any siblings I should know about?"

"I'm eight." Keith told her with a glare. Now the woman did look at him. Her blue eyes were cold and her lips dipped down into a frown. Mrs. Jenne was quick to shush Keith and answer the questions. The blonde typed away at her computer, plugging in information to a general form, nails clacking in a way that make Keith wince.

The adults exchanged more information as Keith looked around the waiting room curiously. Bland tan walls with three pictures total, a few generic wooden chairs with cushioned seats, a desk where the tall woman sat, and a potted plant. It was boring. He pulled away from his current caretaker and wandered over to a picture of a Ranger doing a capture surrounded by his team and partner Pokémon. It would be cool, Keith thought once again, to be a Ranger. Maybe he'd go to school to be one when he was older. His dad had always supported the idea.

Keith's eyes burned at the thought of his father but he didn't cry. Keith Daze never cried and he wouldn't start now. Crying was for the weak, the ones who never achieved anything, because crying only held a person back. Always smile, his dad had always said, smile and make the sun shine. Keith turned at the sound of Mrs. Jenne's voice.

"Keith, Ms. Blanson will take you to your room now." Keith's neighbor dabbed a tissue at the tears in her eyes and awkwardly hugged him when he drew near. He didn't hug back. She was hugging him for her comfort, not his own, and besides Mrs. Jenne wasn't his mother. Her hugs didn't feel right to Keith. No, it was better to not hug back.

"My room?" Keith questioned. His situation was finally becoming clear. He hadn't wanted to believe everything but now he had to. Keith rubbed his eyes with his left hand, his dominant hand, and frowned.

"Yes," Mrs. Jenne said gently, "your room. You're going to be staying here now Keith. Remember? We talked about this on the way here."

"Oh." Keith responded quietly. The little flecks of dark brown in the tan carpet suddenly caught his interest. "Right."

The blonde woman—Ms. Blanson—Keith reminded himself, stood and moved to open a door. She gestured for him to follow. She and Mrs. Jenne had already said their farewells. "This is the way to the main rooms and then the dorm hallways branch off."

Keith nodded absently. He took in all the details with curious eyes and only halfway listened to Ms. Blanson. She was explaining the layout of the building and how the boys' and girls' sleeping quarters were down different hallways but the meals and play times were for both genders.

"Is there a yard?" Keith interrupted Ms. Blanson's talk of meal times and being on time. "Are we allowed to play outside?"

Ms. Blanson frowned but answered promptly, "Yes, there's a yard, and yes, you can play outside, but there are rules. Now, on the topic of your lessons…"

Keith zoned out and imagined the forest near his home. There were tall trees to climb with green leaves that turned gold and red and orange as the seasons changed and a little babbling brook that he loved to play in. It was a perfect place for Pokémon to live and a perfect place for a curious little boy to explore. It was home. Keith was shaken from his imagination when he was brought to a stop in front of a dark green door.

"Here's your room." Ms. Blanson told Keith. The door was opened to reveal three boys around Keith's age. "You'll be sharing with Luke, Christopher, and Jonah. I'll leave you to get acquainted with them. Don't forget to unpack. Dinner will be served in an hour."

Keith's gaze landed on the three boys. Two had blonde hair, one brown, and all three were looking at him warily. It seemed to him as if they thought him an unpredictable Starly. Keith sent them a tentative smile.

"Hi." Keith said. "I'm Keith. Which bed is mine?"

* * *

**Hello! This is an AU Pokémon Ranger fanfic, set in Shadows of Almia. There will be a couple of very minor OC's (such as in this chapter) and there will be some bits where characters aren't exactly in character. It relates to the AU-ness. I'll be adding character profiles with the differences from the game as they are introduced. Read and review please it means so much to me. Reviews are an aspiring author's best friend! Thank you! ~Light**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One!**

* * *

It didn't take long for Keith to make friends with Chris and Jonah. They were nice, friendly, and they liked to play with train tracks and the skateboard. The three boys joked about becoming Trainers or Rangers and they teased the home's little Eevee. Things were alright with them, and Keith found he thought of his parents less when he was distracted with friends.

Luke, on the other hand, was a more reserved person. He didn't talk much or interact with the other children on a regular basis. More often than not Luke was forgotten about when it came to group activities. Keith doubted that anyone could be happy when they didn't have friends so he made it his newest mission to befriend Luke.

"Whatcha readin'?" Keith asked Luke one day. The book was one on types of Pokémon. Keith, as always, started to talk when he got the information he requested. "Cool! I like dragon types. Do you want to be a Trainer?"

Luke had told Keith that he'd rather be a Ranger but didn't think he would ever do anything to get there. When prodded by a curious Keith, Luke told him, "I should be a teacher. That's more likely to happen."

"Why not be a Ranger?" Keith had questioned. "It's a dream. Anyone can follow their dreams!"

Luke's response was only to look at him with a silent sort of disappointment. Finally he had replied, "Dreams don't come true. You have to be in real life, not dream world, and you have to know the difference."

Luke was ten and maybe he knew more than Keith, but the younger boy doubted anyone that gave up like that. Hope, Keith's mother had always whispered to him, was a key to a better world. Hope was something that Luke didn't have and Keith eventually gave up trying to help him.

Instead, Keith played with Chris and Jonah, two other boys from down the hall named Nate and Jack, and they wreaked havoc on Sky Orphanage.

…

…

Keith turned nine and his birthday wasn't celebrated by anything other than an extra helping of dessert at dinner. That night, at 11:11 PM, Keith wished that he could have a new family. He made the same wish on a shooting star the following night and tried to find a four-leaf clover the day after to increase his luck. Maybe the wishing helped, maybe it didn't, but not even a full month later a couple came to visit.

…

…

They came on a damp day, one where mist covered the ground and settled a cold wetness on everything in its path, and they entered the orphanage quietly. Ms. Blanson greeted them and brought them into the playroom. At the couple's request the children were not aware of the visit. When they had been asked why, the couple told Ms. Blanson that they wanted to see the children's real personalities and not them putting on a show.

It just so turned out that Keith was leading his team in a charge ("Victory for Oblivia!") against the opposing side ("For Almia!") when Ms. Blanson entered the room. Jonah was leading the other team and they met in the center of the room with battle cries and a clashing of toys.

"Keith! Jonah!" Ms. Blanson's voice was shrill in shock and outrage. "Clean up this mess right now! Then into your lines."

Keith didn't obey right away. His eyes rested on the two people behind Ms. Blanson. The man was tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes, and the woman was slight of frame with black hair and dark eyes that were framed with black rimmed glasses. The man was scanning the room, looking at all of the kids, but the woman was staring back at Keith.

"Keith. Clean up right now or there will be trouble." Ms. Blanson's steely words left no room for argument. Keith frowned and dropped to the floor with a huff. Keith's fingers sought out broken up Legos, building blocks, a plastic Buizel that he had been waving around, and the old toy ranger stylus that Jonah had been using as a sword.

Keith was startled when he heard his name mentioned from afar. Ms. Blanson nearly scoffed and the strange woman was being very persistent about something involving him. Keith strained his ears to listen and then jumped when Ms. Blanson's voice called out, "Keith, to the main room."

He put down the toys shakily and tried to look for a friendly face among his friends. No one matched his gaze. Was he in trouble? It had been his idea to play fight a war between opposing nations. Keith stood and went to the main room and sat awkwardly in a soft chair, waiting for what felt like an eternity. Finally the door opened.

"Keith, this is Mr. Sezed and Ms. Hall and they want to adopt you." Ms. Blanson told Keith as evenly as she could in her obvious state of disarray. Keith noted Ms. Blanson's appearance wasn't as perfect as it could be and her hands were shaking just a bit. Ms. Blanson must have been very unsettled by something, or, rather, someone.

"Call me Emily, love." Ms. Hall told Keith. "My husband's name is Arric."

"Hello." Keith said to his potential new parents. "I'm Keith and I'm nine. Are you really going to take me?"

Ms. Hall's—Emily's—lips stretched into a smile, revealing shiny white teeth. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she nodded. "We are going to take you Keith. Is that alright with you? I think you'll fit right in with us."

"Yes!" Keith said eagerly. His leg bounced and his lips stretched into a smile. "Do I get my own room? Do you have any other kids? Do I get to go to school?"

Arric and Emily were both amused by Keith's questions and Arric was the one to answer now, "You get your own room and you can pick out the colors and all that, we do not have any other kids and you can go to school if you want. There's also the option of homeschooling. Now, Emily, you should go with Keith to get his stuff. I'll go over paperwork with Ms. Blanson so we can get home as soon as possible."

…

…

And so Keith adjusted to his new life. He took the last name 'Hall' and aimed to be as successful as his new family members. Emily was a florist with her own shop, Arric worked at Altru Inc. as a manager of one of the departments, and Keith's new uncle, Blake Hall, was the CEO of Altru Inc. Keith dedicated himself to his studies and worked hard to get to the top of his classes.

His ambitions changed. No longer did Keith wish to be a Ranger, despite his fondness for Pokémon; instead, he focused on his future at Altru Inc. Yes, he would always be a bit restless and adventurous, but Keith now had an idol and a drive where there had been nothing before. Keith pushed himself to be the best and, as his tenth birthday approached, Keith had no idea of what was to come.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the slow chapter! It's mostly a filler because I needed a transition from the orphanage to the new family and I couldn't figure out a more exciting way for this to happen. The next chapter gets more exciting, I promise! It's Keith's 10th birthday and then skips to him at 15 and there's a fight and yeahhhh the action definitely picks up next chapter. Please keep reading! I appreciate the views and I love reviews so everyone that reads encourages me to keep going and reviews make my day! Thanks again, Light.**


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